If the sales tax in your city is $3.9\%$, how much tax would you pay for an item that costs $\$68$ before tax? Round to the nearest cent.
Solution: In order to find the amount of sales tax you would pay, multiply the sales tax by the original price of the item. ${3.9\%} \times {\$68} =$ Percent means "out of one hundred," so $3.9\%$ is equivalent to $3.9 \div 100$ $3.9 \div 100 = 0.039$ Multiply the sales tax you just converted into a decimal by the original price to find the amount of sales tax that must be paid. Round to the nearest cent. $0.039$ $\times$ $$68$ = $$2.65$ You would pay $$2.65$ in sales tax.